European Nations Settle in North America

  • Apr 23, 1524

    Verrazzano, sailing for France discovers New York Harbor

  • Apr 23, 1534

    Frenchman Jacques Cartier navigate the St. Lawrence River names an island Along the River Montreal.

  • Jamestown is founded on the coast of Virginia by 100 English settlers.

  • French explorer, Samual de Champlain, founds the colony of Quebec.

  • An epidemic of smallpox, brought by Europeans, kills many native Americans on the New England coast.

  • Pilgrims from England found an English Colony in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

  • Henry Hudson, exploring the Netherlands, claims land that will become New Netherland.

  • The Duke of York drives out the Dutch in New Netherland. The Duke of York claims the colony for England and renames it New York.

  • King Phillip's war begins in Colonial villages of MAssachusetts, between colonists and native Americans.

  • Sieur de la Salle explores the lower Mississippi Valley river, and claims the valley for France and names it Louisiana in honor of the French King Louis XIV.

  • War between the British and French, known as the French and Indian war. The war is fought over disputed land claims in the Ohio Valley.